Method for determining provider parameters including a provider margin

ABSTRACT

Provided herein are system, methods and computer readable storage media in facilitating the determination of provider parameters, such as a provider margin, for a promotion of the provider&#39;s goods, services, and/or the like in an agreement between the provider, also known as a merchant, and a promotion and marketing service that is configured to illustrate or otherwise inform consumers of the availability of one or more instruments for a promotion. In providing such functionality, the system may be configured to, for example, receive provider characteristic data, determine historical provider information, receive provider promotion structure data, determine a provider profile, determine a positive return on investment threshold, and transmit a provider parameter.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This non-provisional application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/770,174, filed Feb. 27, 2013, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present description relates to determining parameters for apromotion between a provider of goods, services, experiences and/or thelike and a promotion and marketing service configured to illustrate orotherwise inform consumers of the availability of one or moreinstruments for a promotion. This description more specifically relatesto determining parameters for transactions between providers and apromotion and marketing service.

BACKGROUND

Merchants sell goods and services, also known as products, to consumers.The merchants, also known as providers, can often control the form oftheir product offers, the timing of their product offers, and the priceat which the products will be offered. The provider may sell products ata brick-and-mortar sales location, a virtual online site, or both.

Discounts have been used as part of some retail strategies. Discounttechniques include providing coupons and rebates to potential consumers,but these techniques have several disadvantages. In this regard, anumber of deficiencies and problems associated with the systems used to,among other things, provide and redeem discounts used by consumers havebeen identified. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, manyof these identified problems have been solved by developing solutionsthat are included in embodiments of the present invention, some examplesof which are described herein.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present invention provide hereinsystems, methods and computer readable storage media for facilitatingthe determination of provider parameters between a provider of goods,services, experiences and/or the like and a promotion and marketing in asimple and user-friendly manner. Among other things, embodimentsdiscussed herein can be configured to determine a provider parameter,such as a provider margin, for a provider. Some embodiments may beconfigured to receive data corresponding to at least one providercharacteristic, determine a provider parameter, such as a providermargin, and transmit data corresponding to the provider parameter to aninterface for the provider to review and accept.

Some embodiments discussed herein can be configured to aid a promotionand marketing service representative to establish provider parameters,such as a provider margin, which promote efficient closing oftransactions with one or more providers. Some embodiments may beconfigured to aid a promotion and marketing service in defining providerparameters, redemption parameters, and/or other parameters associatedwith a promotion provided by a merchant, also known as a provider.

Other systems, methods, and features will be, or will become, apparentto one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figuresand detailed description. It is intended that all such additionalsystems, methods, features and be included within this description, bewithin the scope of the disclosure, and be protected by the followingclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described embodiments of the invention in general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system in accordance with some embodimentsdiscussed herein;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart detailing a method of determining aprovider parameter according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart detailing a method of determining aprovider parameter according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of circuitry which may be included ina provider parameter system and/or a mobile device according to anexample embodiment; and

FIG. 5 illustrates an example interface according to an exampleembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention now will be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some,but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, embodimentsof the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should notbe construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather,these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfyapplicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout.

Definitions

As used herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “information” and similarterms may be used interchangeably to refer to data capable of beingcaptured, transmitted, received, displayed and/or stored in accordancewith various example embodiments. Thus, use of any such terms should notbe taken to limit the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Further, wherea computing device is described herein to receive data from anothercomputing device, it will be appreciated that the data may be receiveddirectly from the another computing device or may be received indirectlyvia one or more intermediary computing devices, such as, for example,one or more servers, relays, routers, network access points, basestations, and/or the like. Similarly, where a computing device isdescribed herein to send data to another computing device, it will beappreciated that the data may be sent directly to the another computingdevice or may be sent indirectly via one or more intermediary computingdevices, such as, for example, one or more servers, relays, routers,network access points, base stations, and/or the like.

The principles described herein may be embodied in many different forms.Not all of the depicted components may be required, however, and someimplementations may include additional, different, or fewer components.Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as set forthherein. Additional, different, or fewer components may be provided.

As used herein, the term “provider,” “merchant,” and similar terms maybe used interchangeably to refer to, but not limited to, a merchant,business owner, consigner, shopkeeper, tradesperson, vender, operator,entrepreneur, agent, dealer, organization or the like that is in thebusiness of a providing a good, service or experience to a consumer,facilitating the provision of a good, service or experience to aconsumer and/or otherwise operating in the stream of commerce. Forexample, a provider may be in the form of a spa company that thatprovides spa and health services to a consumer.

In addition, as used herein, the term “promotion and marketing service”may include, but is not limited to, a service that is accessible via oneor more computing devices and is operable to provide example promotionand/or marketing services on behalf of one or more providers that areoffering one or more instruments that are redeemable by consumers forgoods, services, experiences and/or the like. The promotion andmarketing service is further configured to illustrate or otherwiseinform one or more consumers of the availability of one or moreinstruments in the form of one or more impressions. In some examples,the promotion and marketing service may also take the form of aredemption authority, a payment processor, a rewards provider, an entityin a financial network, a promoter, an agent and/or the like. As such,the service is, in some example embodiments, configured to present oneor more promotions via one or more impressions, accept payments forpromotions from consumers, issue instruments upon acceptance of anoffer, participate in redemption, generate rewards, provide a point ofsale device or service, issue payments to providers and/or or otherwiseparticipate in the exchange of goods, services or experiences forcurrency, value and/or the like.

As used herein, the term “instrument” may include, but is not limitedto, any type of gift card, tender, electronic certificate, medium ofexchange, voucher, or the like that embodies the terms of the promotionfrom which the instrument resulted and may be used toward at least aportion of the purchase, acquisition, procurement, consumption or thelike of goods, services and/or experiences. In some examples, theinstrument may take the form of tender that has a given value that isexchangeable for goods, services and/or experiences and/or a reductionin a purchase price of a particular good, service or experience. In someexamples, the instrument may have multiple values, such as acceptedvalue, a promotional value and/or a residual value. For example, usingthe aforementioned running company as the example provider, anelectronic indication in a mobile application that shows $50 of value tospend at the spa company. In some examples, the accepted value of theinstrument is defined by the value exchanged for the instrument. In someexamples, the promotional value is defined by the promotion from whichthe instrument resulted and is the value of the instrument beyond theaccepted value. In some examples, the residual value is the value afterredemption, the value after the expiry or other violation of aredemption parameter, the return or exchange value of the instrumentand/or the like.

As used herein, the term “impressions” may include, but is not limitedto, a communication, a display, or other perceived indication, such as aflyer, print media, e-mail, text message, application alert, mobileapplications, other type of electronic interface or distribution channeland/or the like, of one or more promotions. For example, and using theaforementioned spa company as the example provider, an e-mailcommunication sent to consumers that indicates the availability of a $25for $50 toward spa services promotion.

Overview

As discussed herein, a provider of goods, services, experiences and thelike (e.g. a spa company that provides spa and health services andproducts) may engage with a promotion and marketing service forproviding promotion and/or marketing services on behalf of the provider.For example, the promotion and marketing service may transmit to anumber of consumers impressions associated with a promotion for a good,service, and/or the like provided by a provider (e.g., an e-mailindicating a consumer may purchase $40 worth of spa services from AcmeSpa Company for $20). In addition, the promotion and marketing servicemay accept payments for the promotion from a consumer and issue apromotion instrument to a consumer for the payment. Accordingly, theconsumer may present and redeem the promotion instrument to the providerin exchange for goods or services (e.g., the consumer may visit an AcmeSpa Company location and obtain $40 worth of spa services by presentingthe $20 for $40 promotion instrument). In exchange for providing thepromotion and/or marketing service, the promotion and marketing servicemay retain a portion of the revenue received from the consumer andprovide the provider with the remainder of the revenues (e.g. themarketing and promotion service may retain $5 of the $20 and provideAcme Spa Company with $15 of the $20 paid by the consumer for theinstrument).

Embodiments discussed herein may be configured to provide fordetermining a provider parameter, such as a provider margin or otherterms associated with a transaction between a promotion and marketingservice and one or more providers. According to some embodiments, thepromotion and marketing service may define and/or determine providerparameters, which may include parameters, terms, bounds, considerationsand/or the like that outline or otherwise define the term, timing,constraints, limitations, rules, or the like that embody economicallyefficient transactions between the promotion or marketing service andone or more providers. A provider parameter may further include thelocation or method of presenting an impression to a consumer (i.e., aprominent promotion placement, number of impressions, and/or the like),the type of consumer the impression is provided to (i.e., high-valueconsumers are presented with the impression), and/or the like.

In one embodiment, determining a provider parameter may includedetermining a provider margin, which may be defined by the percentage ofrevenue retained and/or received by a provider, such as a merchant,business owner, vendor, and/or the like, from the total amount ofrevenue received from a consumer in association with the purchase andredemption of a promotion. A promotion and marketing service may receivethe remainder of the total amount of revenue (i.e., total revenuereceived minus the provider margin) received from a consumer inconjunction for providing such promotion and marketing services.

Various embodiments of the invention are directed to determining aprovider margin (or other provider parameters) that promotes anefficient economic transaction between the provider and the promotionand marketing service. Said differently, such embodiments are directedto selecting a provider margin that is fair enough to both parties suchthat, on average, the likelihood of non-acceptance by either party ofthe selected provider margin is a low as possible. Embodiments may alsobe directed to selecting a provider margin that, on average, will beaccepted by a provider upon the first presentation of the providermargin. In this regard, one advantage that may be realized by someembodiments discussed herein is that determining a provider margin maydecrease the amount of time spent negotiating between a provider and apromotion and marketing service. For example, a desirable providermargin may be pre-established for a particular type of provider locatedin a particular location. As such, the provider and promotion andmarketing service may be presented with an initial provider margin thatis mutually agreeable.

Another embodiment may advantageously provide for providing a providermargin to a good provider that is indicative of its high value status,while also providing a provider margin to a bad provider that isindicative of its relatively lower value status. For example, a providermay be rated by a number of factors, such as average consumer reviews,social media presence, consumer protection agency ratings, negativepress coverage, return or refund rate, return or refund amount, and/orthe like. As such, good providers, i.e., those with a higher rating, mayadvantageously be provided with a provider margin indicative of thehigher rating, while bad providers, i.e., those with lower ratings, maybe provided with a lower provider margin indicative of the lower rating.In some embodiments, a good provider and a bad provider may receivedifferent provider margins even in an instance where the good providerand the bad provider are located in the same or similar locations andprovide the same or similar goods or services.

Further, another advantage that may be realized by some embodimentsdiscussed herein is that extreme provider margins (i.e., outlierprovider margins that are relatively too high or low) may be eliminatedby providing a pre-established provider margin for a provider. Providermargins have historically been negotiated between a provider and apromotion and marketing service on an individual basis. Accordingly,provider margins may vary by a number of factors, which may produceextreme provider margins that are statistical outliers. As such,embodiments of the present invention may advantageously provide fordecreasing the number of extreme provider margins by providing apre-established provider margin.

The foregoing description applies the inventive concepts hereindescribed to a provider margin as an exemplary provider parameter. Thisapplication is provided for ease of illustration and is not intended tolimit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Indeed, as will beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of this disclosure,the inventive concepts herein described may also be applied to otherprovider parameters.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 including an example networkarchitecture, which may include one or more devices and sub-systems thatare configured to implement some embodiments discussed herein. Forexample, system 100 may include provider parameter system 102, which mayinclude, for example, a processor 150, a memory 152, a providerparameter computing device 154, a provider parameter module 104 and aprovider parameter database 106. Provider parameter module 104 can beany suitable network server and/or other type of processing device, suchas a provider parameter computing device 154. Provider parameterdatabase 106 can be any suitable network database configured to storeprovider characteristics, historical promotion and/or provider data,and/or analytics data, such as that discussed herein. In this regard,provider parameter system 102, may include for example, at least onebackend data server, network database, cloud computing device, amongother things. As discussed herein, the provider device 110A,110M, thesales representative device 112A,112Z, and/or the consumer device 114A,114N may be any suitable mobile device, such as a cellular phone, tabletcomputer, smartphone, etc., or other type of mobile processing devicethat may be used for any suitable purpose.

Provider parameter system 102 may be coupled to one or more of theprovider devices 110A, 110M, sales representative devices 112A, 112Z,and/or consumer devices 114A, 114N, (e.g., mobile device) via acommunications interface 152 that is configured to communicate withnetwork 108. In this regard, network 108 may include any wired orwireless communication network including, for example, a wired orwireless local area network (LAN), personal area network (PAN),metropolitan area network (MAN), wide area network (WAN), mobilebroadband network, or the like, as well as any hardware, software and/orfirmware required to implement it (such as, e.g., network routers,etc.). For example, network 108 may include a cellular telephone, a402.11, 402.16, 402.20, and/or WiMax network. Further, the network 108may include a public network, such as the Internet, a private network,such as an intranet, or combinations thereof, and may utilize a varietyof networking protocols now available or later developed including, butnot limited to TCP/IP based networking protocols.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart for an example embodiment of a method200 of determining a provider margin that may be outputted and/ortransmitted in a number of ways. For example, in one embodiment, aprovider may access a web-based secure provider interface via a providerdevice, such as a mobile device, such as a mobile device, a smartphone,a laptop, a mobile computing device, a tablet computing device, and/orthe like, and receive information corresponding to a number ofpromotions the provider may offer and the respective provider margin foreach of those promotions. The respective provider margins may bedetermined on an individual basis. In another embodiment, a salesrepresentative may access a web-based secure sales representativeinterface via a sales representative device, such as a mobile device,such as a mobile device, a smartphone, a laptop, a mobile computingdevice, a tablet computing device, and/or the like, and receiveinformation corresponding to a particular provider margin for a providerso as to begin a negotiation process with the provider.

Method 200 may begin at 202 and proceed to 204, where a providerparameter system may receive provider characteristic data from a mobiledevice, such as a provider device 110A. For example, a provider mayaccess a secure web-based provider interface and transmit providercharacteristic data to the provider parameter system. The provider maytransmit provider characteristic data, such as registration information,provider name, provider category, provider location, and/or the like viaa provider device 110.

In another embodiment, a representative of a promotion and marketingservice may negotiate with a provider for providing promotion andmarketing services for the provider's goods and/or services. In exchangefor presenting the availability of one or more instruments that areredeemable for goods, services, experiences and/or the like, thepromotion and marketing service may receive a portion of the revenuereceived by the provider from the consumer. Accordingly, the salesrepresentative may obtain information corresponding to the providercharacteristic data and transmit the provider characteristic data to theprovider parameter system via a sales representative device.

In some embodiments, the provider may initially provide the providercharacteristic data by pre-registering as a provider with the promotionand marketing service. Accordingly, subsequent transactions may notrequire the provider to provide provider characteristic data to theprovider parameter system. In another embodiment, the provider mayprovide provider characteristic data to the provider parameter system inreal-time to support a determination of the provider margin (i.e., ifthe provider has not pre-registered or if, for example, the provider isa mobile provider and changes locations from time to time).

In one embodiment, a provider characteristic may be the location fromwhere the provider provides the good, service, or experience to theconsumer. In some embodiments, the provider characteristic may include apublic provider rating or ranking, such as a provider rating from asocial media website or the provider rating from public reviewsdeposited with the promotion and marketing service. Another providercharacteristic may be the type or category of goods, services,experiences the provider provides a consumer. A category need not belimited to a particular type of good, service, experience or the likethe provider provides the consumer. In some embodiments, the providercategory may be based upon any suitable aggregation of providers.According to one embodiment, a category may be based upon a particularservice that is provided to a consumer. For example, one category may bedefined as a spa and health service. Accordingly, providers that may beincluded within the category need not be limited to only spa and healthservice providers, but may include other providers that offer spa andhealth services in addition to other services. For example, a fitnessclub, gym, hotel property, or resort property may all provide health andspa services in addition to other goods and services. Accordingly, acategory for health and spa services may include health spas, and inaddition, a fitness club, gym, hotel property, and resort property thatall provide health and spa services.

At 206, the provider parameter system may be configured to determine theprovider margin based, at least in part, on the provider characteristicdata received from the mobile device. For example, the providerparameter system may receive data indicating a particular provider islocated in a particular city. Accordingly, the provider parameter systemmay be configured to determine that a provider margin for a providerlocated in that particular city should be 60% of the total revenuereceived from the consumer. As disclosed in further detail herein, theprovider parameter system may be configured to determine the providermargin based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, theprovider's historical transactions with the promotion and marketingservice, the redemption parameters of a particular promotion and/or thelike.

At 208, the provider parameter system may be configured to transmit datacorresponding to the provider margin to a mobile device, such as theprovider device 110. As such, the provider may receive datacorresponding to a number of promotions available for the provider toimplement, such as the provider margin that is determined individuallyfor each of the promotions. In another embodiment, a salesrepresentative of the promotion and marketing service may be providedwith the provider margin for a particular provider wishing to engage thepromotion and marketing service for a specific promotion havingpredefined redemption parameters. The method may end at 210.

Example Provider Margin Calculation

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart for another example embodiment of amethod of determining a provider parameter, such as a provider margin,that should be provided to an example provider, e.g., Acme Spa Company.In some embodiments, the method may be performed by at least one mobiledevice. As will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in viewof this disclosure, although FIG. 1 illustrates a method of determininga provider parameter with a system, such as a provider parameter system102 of FIG. 1.

Method 300 begins at 302 and proceeds to 304, where a provider parametersystem may be configured to receive provider characteristic data from aprovider. As mentioned previously, a provider may be able to access anapplication, web-based interface, or the like on a provider deviceconfigured to communicate with the provider parameter system. Theprovider and/or merchant may provide data corresponding to at least oneprovider characteristic to the provider device configured to communicatewith the provider parameter system. For example, a manager of Acme SpaCompany may be able to access a web-based interface configured tocommunicate with the provider parameter system. The manager may providethe provider device with information, such as the location of Acme SpaCompany. In another embodiment, a representative of the promotion andmarketing service may provide data corresponding to at least oneprovider characteristic to a sales representative device configured tocommunicate with the provider parameter system.

At 306, the provider parameter system may be configured to determine ahistorical information margin. For example, the historical informationmargin may be determined, at least in part, by previous provider marginsoffered to providers of the selected provider category (i.e., spa andhealth services for the provider Acme Spa Company). In anotherembodiment, the historical information margin may be determined, atleast in part, by previous provider margins given to providers of theselected provider category (i.e., spa and health services for theprovider Acme Spa Company) with an increase or decrease to the providermargin being applied based, at least in part, on consumer reviews of theprovider. For example, if the average consumer reviews of Acme SpaCompany is greater than the average reviews of providers in the samecategory (i.e., spa and health services), than Acme Spa Company mayreceive a historical information margin that is equivalent to theaverage margin given to providers in the spa and health services plus anincrease for the positive consumer reviews. Accordingly, embodimentsherein may advantageously provide for positively influencing providerbehavior by biasing providers towards providing desirable goods,services, and/or experiences for positive consumer ratings of theprovider. As such, in return for the positive consumer ratings, aprovider may receive a higher provider margin.

In various embodiments, a provider may be categorized based upon theprovider's goods and/or services. Accordingly, consumers may be able toreview, score, rate, and/or the like, a number of providers in aparticular category of goods and/or services. In some embodiments, theaverage review score {circumflex over (r)}(c) for a provider in aparticular category c, may be expressed as,

${\hat{r}(c)} = {\frac{1}{{m \in M_{c}}}{\sum\limits_{m \in M_{c}}{\hat{r}}_{m}}}$where M_(c) is the set of all providers that belong to the category and{circumflex over (r)}_(m) is the average review score for the particularprovider. In another embodiment, the average review score may bedetermined by a different aggregation function that is configured toprovide a representation of the historical review score of theparticular providers. The historical information margin μ_(h) for aparticular provider m_(i) may then be expressed as,μ_(h)(m _(i))=μ(m _(i))+f(m _(i) ,x)where μ(m_(i)) is the historical information margin for the providerm_(i) and f(m_(i), x) is an increase or decrease in x, based on theconsumer reviews of the provider determined by the equation,

${f\left( {m_{i},x} \right)} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}{{{+ x}\mspace{14mu}{if}\mspace{14mu}{\hat{r}}_{m_{i}}} > {\hat{r}\left( c_{m_{i}} \right)}} \\{{{- x}\mspace{14mu}{if}\mspace{14mu}{\hat{r}}_{m_{i}}} \leq {\hat{r}\left( c_{m_{i}} \right)}}\end{matrix} \right.$where c_(m) _(i) is the provider category. As such, the providerparameter system may be configured to determine a provider margin, basedat least in part, on the historical information margin of the particularprovider. The increase or decrease in x may be approximately 0.05 in oneembodiment. In another embodiment, the increase or decrease in x may begreater if a promotion and marketing service desires to award consumerreviews greater weight. In some embodiments, a reward or a penalty maybe considered as a function that increases or decreases the historicalmargin respectively using any suitable modifying function, such asaddition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and/or the like.

In one example embodiment, a provider, such as Acme Spa Company mayinstitute a promotion with the promotion and marketing service wherebyAcme Spa Company offers $40 worth of spa treatments for $20. Spa andhealth service providers may on average receive a provider margin of0.53. Acme Spa Company, however, may have a consumer rating that ishigher than the average consumer rating for all spa and health serviceproviders. For example, the average overall consumer rating for spa andhealth service providers may be approximately 0.2, while the averageoverall consumer rating for Acme Spa Company is approximately 0.3. Assuch, in one embodiment, Acme Spa Company may receive an increase of0.05 to the historical information margin based at least on having ahigher average overall consumer rating. Accordingly, Acme Spa Companymay receive a historical information margin of approximately 0.58instead of the 0.53 (i.e., μ_(h)(Acme)=0.53+0.05=0.58).

At 308, the provider parameter system may be configured to determine aprovider profile margin based, at least in part, on the providercategory, the provider location, the provider quality score, and/or thelike. In some embodiments, the provider parameter system may beconfigured to determine the provider profile margin based on a providerquality score, which may be affected by consumer reviews of theprovider, complaints received by consumer protection agenciescorresponding to the provider, the provider's social media presence,amount of refunds issued, and/or other qualities, metrics, ormeasurements attributable to the provider. For example, a provider, suchas Acme Spa Company, may have negative reviews with a consumerprotection agency, may not have any social media presence, and may issuetwice as many refunds than other spa and health service providers. Assuch, Acme Spa Company may have a low provider quality score. In someembodiment, additional qualities, metrics, measurements and the like maybe determined by the promotion and marketing service. According to oneembodiment, the provider profile margin μ_(p) for a particular providerm_(i) may be defined by the equation,μ_(p)(m _(i))=μ(c _(m) _(i) ,mqs _(m) _(i) ,l _(m) _(i) )where the category c_(m) _(i) is the category for the particularprovider m_(i), mqs_(m) _(i) is the provider quality score for theparticular provider m_(i), and l_(m) _(i) is the location of theparticular provider m_(i). According to some embodiments, the providerprofile margin μ_(p) for a particular provider m_(i) may be definedand/or determined by an aggregation function using the category of theparticular provider c_(m) _(i) , the provider quality score and/or thelocation of the particular provider l_(m) _(i) as inputs for variables.In other embodiments, the provider profile margin may be determinedusing an aggregation function that receives any number of inputs and/oraggregation methods. In one embodiment, a spa and health servicesprovider, such as Acme Spa Company, may receive a provider profilemargin of 0.59 for having a particular provider quality score, beinglocated at a particular location, and being a provider for a thecategory of spa and health services.

At 310, the provider parameter system may be configured to determine apromotion structure margin μ_(d), based at least in part on redemptionparameters of the promotion. In some embodiments, the promotionstructure margin may be determined based in part on the discount dprovided to the consumer and the total number of promotion units to sellu.

As the discount provided to the consumer increases, it is also desirablefor the provider margin to increase to account for the loss in revenueto the provider by providing the higher consumer discount. In addition,as the total number of promotion units to sell increases, it is alsodesirable for the provider margin to increase to account for the greaternumber of promotion units to sell (and the corresponding greater valueof the provider to the promotion and marketing service). As such, in oneembodiment, the provider parameter system may be configured to determinea promotion structure margin as a linear combination according to thefollowing equation,μ_(d)(m _(i) ,d,u)=ϵ·μ _(discount)(c _(m) _(i) ,q(d))+(1−ϵ)·μ _(units)(c_(m) _(i) ,q(u))where c_(m) _(i) is the category for the provider m_(i), μ _(discount)(c_(m) _(i) , q(d)) is the average margin for the category c_(m) _(i)and quartile q(d) for the discount d, μ _(units)(c_(m) _(i) , q(u)) isthe average margin for category c_(m) _(i) and quartile q(u) for theunits u, and ϵ is used to determine the linear combination of bothfactors, where E values between 0 and 1. According to some embodiments,the weighted sum of both factors and/or the averages in each case mayconsidered as different aggregation functions that are configured todefine a unified representation of the promotion structure margin.

The balancing between the discount provided and the units sold by theprovider in determining the promotion structure margin may beaccomplished by varying the value of ϵ. For example, in one embodiment,ϵ may equal 0.5. As such, the promotion structure margin may be definedby an equation that equates (assumes as equal) the discounts provided bythe provider and the number of promotion units sold. For example, in oneembodiment, a provider, such as Acme Spa Company, may have a margin of0.61 when a particular discount is provided and a margin of 0.59 when aparticular number of units are provided. According to one embodiment,the values for the discount provided and the units sold by the providerin determining the promotion structure margin may be assumed to be equal(i.e., ϵ=0). As such, the promotion structure margin may beapproximately 0.6, as the promotion structure margin is equal to0.5·0.61+0.5·0.59=0.60.

Although embodiments discussed herein disclose a promotion structuremargin determined based at least upon the discount d provided to theconsumer and the total number of promotion units to sell u, one ofordinary skill in the art may appreciate that the promotion structuremargin may be based upon any number of factors influencing the structureof the promotion. For example, a promotion structure margin may beinfluenced by the location and/or method of the promotion placement(i.e., a prominent promotion placement may lower the promotion structuremargin, and thus, a provider margin), the volume and/or resources thepromotion and marketing service uses for the provider's promotion (i.e.,a promotion having 1 million impressions will result in a lowerpromotion structure margin than a promotion having 1,000 impressions),the type of consumers targeted with the promotion (i.e., a promotiontargeting high-value consumers, such as a consumer who typicallypurchase promotions, a high-income consumer, and/or the like, may resultin a lower promotion structure margin) and/or the like. Accordingly, apromotion structure margin may be based on any number of factors thatmay relate to the structure of the promotion.

In some embodiments, the provider parameter system may be configured todetermine a positive return on investment (“ROI”) margin μ_(r) at 312.According to one embodiment, the provider parameter system may beconfigured to determine a positive ROI margin based upon past promotionsoffered and the margin thresholds necessary for a positive ROI in thosepast promotions. In another embodiment, the provider parameter systemmay be configured to determine a positive ROI margin based at least upona Monte Carlo simulation used to derive an empirical distribution, fromwhich the probability of π being positive may be determined, where π isthe profit per instrument divided by the unit price. The unit price maybe defined as the price a consumer pays for the goods, services,experiences and/or the like.

In this regard, π, the profits per instrument divided by the unit pricemay be expressed by the equation,π=pf[(μ+s+r)−k(v+s+r)]−p(1−f)(v−μ)+f(1−p)[(p+s′+r′)−k(1+s′+r′)]−(1−p)(1−f)(1−μ)wherein, v is the unit value divided by the unit price. The unit valuemay be defined as the original price of the good, service and/orexperience before the promotion was offered. Further,

-   -   1. r is the average return amount spent by a consumer divided by        the unit price (i.e. revenue associated with repeat business per        unit price),    -   2. r′ is the average return amount spent after the expiration of        the promotion period divided by the unit price (i.e., revenue        associated with repeat business after promotion expiration per        unit price),    -   3. s is the average amount spent in addition to the promotion        divided by the unit price (i.e., revenue upsale per unit price),    -   4. s′ is the average amount spent in addition to the promotion        after the promotion period expires divided by the unit price        (i.e., non-redemption revenue per unit price),    -   5. k is the variable cost as a percentage of the total check        amount (i.e., the variable cost as a percentage of the total        amount of a consumer's transaction),    -   6. f is the new customer fraction (i.e., the amount of new        consumers that had not previously purchased goods and/or        services from the provider), and    -   7. p is the final redemption percentage (i.e., the percentage of        instruments that are redeemed).        In addition, the above variables may be computed with respect to        the particular provider's category.

In estimating the positive ROI margin, the provider parameter system maybe configured to utilize certain assumptions when performing the MonteCarlo simulations. For example, the ROI per instrument may be assumed tobe independent from the volume of the units sold. As such, when it, theprofits per instrument divided by the unit price, is greater than zero,the ROI may be interpreted as being positive for the promotion campaign.In some embodiments, the provider parameter system may assume acorrelation exists between the unit price and whether a consumerpurchases additional goods and services and/or returns to the providerin the future for other goods, services and the like.

According to some embodiments, the provider parameter system may alsoassume that redeeming promotions by existing consumers is acannibalization of sales. Further, it may be assumed that a consumerwould spend the same amount regardless of having a promotion instrument,such as a coupon. The provider parameter system may further assume afinal redemption rate of 85%. In another embodiment, the providerparameter system may use a redemption rate percentage from theprovider's past promotions. Further, it may be assumed that all expiredinstruments will be redeemed at the unit price. In some embodiments, theamount spent in addition to the promotion and the amount spent in asubsequent visit by a consumer may be assumed to be zero for expiredinstruments.

As such, the positive ROI margin may be determined using theapproximated distributions obtained by the Monte Carlo simulations anduser input data corresponding to the category of the merchant c, thediscount provided d, and the cost of goods sold percentage k, asrepresented by the equation,

${\mu_{r}\left( {m_{i},d} \right)} = \left\{ \mu \middle| {{P\left( {\pi\left( {\mu,c_{m_{i}},k_{c_{m_{i}}},\frac{1}{d}} \right)} \right)} > 0} \right\}$where the discount provided d is defined as 1/v. According to oneembodiment, the positive ROI margin may be determined to be 0.61 for aspa and health services provider, such as Acme Spa Company.

At 314, the provider margin may be determined by the provider parametersystem. According to some embodiments, the provider margin may be anyone of the historical information margin, the provider profile margin,the promotion structure margin, the positive ROI margin, or acombination thereof. In some embodiments, the provider parameter systemmay be configured to determine a provider margin based upon a linearcombination of any one of the historical information margin, theprovider profile margin, the promotion structure margin, and thepositive ROI margin. For example, the provider margin may be defined bythe equation,

${\mu\left( {m_{i},d,u} \right)} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}{{l\left( \left\{ {{\mu_{p}\left( m_{i} \right)},{\mu_{d}\left( {m_{i},d,u} \right)},{\mu_{h}\left( m_{i} \right)},{\mu_{r}\left( {m_{i},d} \right)}} \right\} \right)}\mspace{14mu}{if}\mspace{14mu}{Case}\mspace{14mu} 1} \\{{l\left( \left\{ {{\mu_{p}\left( m_{i} \right)},{\mu_{d}\left( {m_{i},d,u} \right)},{\mu_{r}\left( {m_{i},d} \right)}} \right\} \right)}\mspace{14mu}{if}\mspace{14mu}{Case}\mspace{14mu} 2} \\{{l\left( \left\{ {{\mu_{p}\left( m_{i} \right)},{\mu_{h}\left( m_{i} \right)}} \right\} \right)}\mspace{14mu}{if}\mspace{14mu}{Case}\mspace{14mu} 3} \\{{l\left( \left\{ {\mu_{p}\left( m_{i} \right)} \right\} \right)}\mspace{14mu}{if}\mspace{14mu}{Case}\mspace{14mu} 4}\end{matrix} \right.$where l(M) is a linear combination of the margins in set M according tothe following equation,

${l(M)} = {\sum\limits_{\mu_{i} \in M}{\alpha_{i} \cdot \mu_{i}}}$where α_(i)ϵ[0,1],∀i and Σ_(i)α_(i)=1. According to some embodiments,the combinations could be non-linear combinations. Accordingly,embodiments may advantageously provide for the flexible determination ofa provider margin based upon an appropriate weighting of desired factorsfor particular cases, such as those described herein.

In Case 1, past historical information for the provider m_(i) exists anda promotion structure is to be evaluated in determining the margin. InCase 2, no past historical information for the provider m_(i) exists,but a promotion structure is to be evaluated in determining the margin.In Case 3, historical information for the provider m_(i) exists, but nopromotion structure is to be evaluated in determining the margin. InCase 4, no past historical information for the provider m_(i) exists andno promotion structure is to be evaluated in determining the margin.Accordingly, in one embodiment where the past historical information forAcme Spa Company exists and a promotion structure is being evaluated todetermine the margin, the provider margin for Acme Spa Company may bedefined as the linear combination of the historical information margin,the provider profile margin, the promotion structure margin, and thepositive ROI margin. Specifically, an embodiment may use α=0.25 toobtain the equation,μ(Acme)=0.25·μ_(p)(Acme)+0.25·μ_(d)(Acme)+0.25−μ_(h)(Acme)+0.25·μ_(r)(Acme)which equals,μ(Acme)=(0.25·0.58)+(0.25·0.59)+(0.25·0.60)+(0.25·0.61)=0.595Accordingly, the provider margin for Acme Spa Company in an instancewhere a promotion structure is being evaluated and historicalinformation exists is 0.595.

According to another embodiment, the provider margin may be determinedby the provider parameter system at 312 by computing the maximum betweenthe positive ROI margin and a linear combination of other margins, suchas the historical information margin, the provider profile margin and/orthe promotion structure margin. For example, the following equation maybe used to determine the provider margin,

${\mu\left( {m_{i},d,u} \right)} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}{\max\left( {{\mu_{r}\left( {m_{i},d} \right)},{{l\left( \left\{ {{\mu_{p}\left( m_{i} \right)},{\mu_{d}\left( {m_{i},d,u} \right)},{\mu_{h}\left( m_{i} \right)}} \right\} \right)}\mspace{14mu}{if}\mspace{14mu}{Case}\mspace{14mu} 1}} \right.} \\{\max\left( {{\mu_{r}\left( {m_{i},d} \right)},{{l\left( \left\{ {{\mu_{p}\left( m_{i} \right)},{\mu_{d}\left( {m_{i},d,u} \right)}} \right\} \right)}\mspace{14mu}{if}\mspace{14mu}{Case}\mspace{14mu} 2}} \right.} \\{{l\left( \left\{ {{\mu_{p}\left( m_{i} \right)},{\mu_{h}\left( m_{i} \right)}} \right\} \right)}\mspace{14mu}{if}\mspace{14mu}{Case}\mspace{14mu} 3} \\{{l\left( \left\{ {\mu_{p}\left( m_{i} \right)} \right\} \right)}\mspace{14mu}{if}\mspace{14mu}{Case}\mspace{14mu} 4}\end{matrix} \right.$where l(M) is a linear combination of the margins in set M according tothe following equation,

${l(M)} = {\sum\limits_{\mu_{i} \in M}{\alpha_{i} \cdot \mu_{i}}}$where α_(i)ϵ [0,1], ∀i and Σ_(i)α_(i)=1. In some embodiments, thecombinations may be non-linear combinations. As such, embodiments mayadvantageously provide for the flexible determination of a providermargin based upon an appropriate weighting of desired factors forparticular cases, such as those described herein.

The provider margin may be any combination of any of the historicalinformation margin, provider profile margin, promotion structure margin,and/or positive ROI margin. In some embodiments, the provider margin maybe a linear combination of any of the historical information margin,provider profile margin, promotion structure margin, and/or positive ROImargin. Although embodiments discussed herein disclose a provider marginobtained from a linear combination of any one of the historicalinformation margin, provider profile margin, promotion structure margin,and/or positive ROI margin, one of ordinary skill in the art mayappreciate that a provider margin may be determined by any suitableaggregation of any one of the historical information margin, providerprofile margin, promotion structure margin, and/or positive ROI margin.

Although embodiments discussed herein provide for determining a providermargin as a percentage of the total revenue retained by the provider,one of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that another embodimentmay provide for determining a provider margin as a fixed dollar amountof the total revenue retained by the provider. In some embodiments, theprovider parameter system may be configured to determine a percentage ofthe total revenue and determine a dollar amount based, at least, on thepercentage value of the total revenue. According to another embodiment,the provider parameter system may be configured to determine a fixed feeamount based upon a comparison of the percentage of the total revenue,the total dollar amount based upon, at least, the percentage of thetotal revenue, and/or any other suitable provider margin metric. Forexample, a provider parameter system may be configured to determine thata provider with no provider profile and having no promotion structurefor evaluation should receive a maximum fixed fee provider margin.

In another embodiment, one of ordinary skill in the art may appreciatethat the provider parameter system may be leveraged for determining aprovider margin for a fixed fee amount based at least upon an amount ofconsumer traffic a promotion and marketing service provides a providerby illustrating or otherwise informing a consumer of a provider via animpression. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the provider parametersystem may provide a provider wishing to generate increased web trafficto the provider's virtual web-based store with a provider margin basedat least upon the number of consumers that visit the provider's virtualweb-based store via the impression distributed by a promotion andmarketing service.

At 316, the provider parameter system may be configured to transmit datacorresponding to the provider margin to a mobile device, such as theprovider device. In one embodiment, a provider may provide promotionparameter data, provider characteristic data, and/or the like to theprovider parameter system via a provider device. The provider parametersystem may then determine the provider margin, as described inembodiments herein, and transmit data corresponding to the providermargin to the provider. In another embodiment, a representative of thepromotion and marketing service may discuss the promotion parameters andthe provider characteristics during a negotiation between the providerand the representative for promotion and marketing services. As such,the representative may transmit data corresponding to promotionparameter data, provider characteristic data, and/or the like to theprovider parameter system via a mobile device. The provider parametersystem may then transmit data corresponding to a provider margin, whichthe representative may then present to a provider. Accordingly, theprovider parameter system may receive the promotion parameter data,provider characteristic data, and/or the like, and may subsequentlydetermine a provider margin that may, on average, be accepted by theprovider upon its first presentation. As such, no further negotiationsbetween the provider and the promotion and marketing service isrequired. Some embodiments may advantageously provide for rewarding goodprovider by providing providers having esteemed qualities with aprovider margin that is higher than a provider margin offered to badproviders having undesirable qualities. Accordingly, a good provider maylikely accept the higher provider margin upon its first presentation. Assuch, embodiments discussed herein may advantageously provide for anefficient transaction between a provider and a promotion and marketingservice.

In another embodiment, the provider parameter system may be configuredto transmit data corresponding to a range of provider margins to arepresentative. As such, the representative may then negotiate with theprovider for a provider margin within the determined range. In anotherembodiment, the provider parameter system may transmit data to arepresentative corresponding to a provider margin limit so as toindicate to the representative the maximum and/or minimum providermargin that may be offered to the provider. The process may end at 318.

Exemplary System Interface

As shown in FIG. 5, an interface 500 configured to display a providerparameter, such as a provider margin, to a provider. In someembodiments, the interface 500 may be displayed by a provider device, asales representative device, and/or a user interface of a providerparameter system. The interface 500 may illustrate a total number ofinstruments quantity 502, an instrument cost 504, and an instrumentvalue 506. In some embodiments, the interface 500 may illustrate aprovider parameter, such as a provider margin 508. In addition, theinterface 500 may optionally illustrate the provider margin in a dollarquantity, such as the dollar amount per instrument value 510. Further,the interface 500 may illustrate the total dollar amount value 512 aprovider may receive from engaging in a particular promotion with apromotion and marketing service provider.

According to some embodiments, a provider may view the interface 500 ona provider device. Further, the interface 500 may be configured toreceive an input corresponding to the total number of instrumentsquantity 502, the instrument cost 504, and the instrument value 506. Forexample, a provider may select the field corresponding to the totalnumber of instruments quantity 502 and provide an input corresponding tothe total number of instruments the provider wishes to offer for aparticular promotion. Likewise, the provider may provide an inputcorresponding to the instrument cost and the instrument value at therespective fields 504, 506. Once a provider has completed an inputprocess, the provider may select the calculate portion 514 to determinea provider parameter, such as the provider margin 508. In someembodiments, the interface 500 may be configured to display the providermargin 508, the dollar amount per instrument 510, and the total dollaramount 512 upon receiving an indication corresponding to a selection ofthe calculate portion 514 of the interface. Although the interface 500in FIG. 5 illustrates three input fields 502, 504, 506 and three outputfields 508, 510, 512, one of skill in the art may appreciate that anynumber of input and output fields may be displayed by an interface 500.In some embodiments, the interface 500 may be displayed on a salesrepresentative device. Accordingly, the sales representative may providethe interface with various inputs corresponding to respective providerparameters, promotion parameters and/or the like. As such, the interfacemay be configured to display a provider parameter, such as a providermargin, to the sales representative such that the representative maybegin a negotiation process with a provider.

In some embodiments, the interface may be further configured to receivean input corresponding to provider characteristic data, such asregistration information, provider name, provider category, providerlocation, and/or the like. Further, the interface may be configured toreceive an input corresponding to a promotion structure, such as thetotal number of instruments to be sold, the instrument cost, and/or theinstrument value, as shown in FIG. 5. The interface may be furtherconfigured to receive an input corresponding to a plurality of promotionstructures such that a provider parameter, such as a provider margin,may be determined for a number of provider promotions based at least onthe total number of promotion structures the provider wishes to offer.

Exemplary System Architecture

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic block diagram of circuitry 400, some orall of which may be included in, for example, provider parameter module102, provider parameter database 104 and/or mobile device 110. Asillustrated in FIG. 4, in accordance with some example embodiments,circuitry 400 may include various means, such as a processor 402, memory404, communication module 406, input/output module 408 and/or providermargin module 410.

In some embodiments, such as when circuitry 400 is included in aprovider parameter system 100 and/or mobile device 110, provider marginmodule 410 may be included. As referred to herein, “module” includeshardware, software and/or firmware configured to perform one or moreparticular functions. In this regard, the means of circuitry 400 asdescribed herein may be embodied as, for example, circuitry, hardwareelements (e.g., a suitably programmed processor, combinational logiccircuit, and/or the like), a computer program product comprisingcomputer-readable program instructions stored on a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium (e.g., memory 404) that is executable by asuitably configured processing device (e.g., processor 402), or somecombination thereof.

Processor 402 may, for example, be embodied as various means includingone or more microprocessors with accompanying digital signalprocessor(s), one or more processor(s) without an accompanying digitalsignal processor, one or more coprocessors, one or more multi-coreprocessors, one or more controllers, processing circuitry, one or morecomputers, various other processing elements including integratedcircuits such as, for example, an ASIC (application specific integratedcircuit) or FPGA (field programmable gate array), or some combinationthereof. Accordingly, although illustrated in FIG. 4 as a singleprocessor, in some embodiments, processor 402 comprises a plurality ofprocessors. The plurality of processors may be embodied on a singlecomputing device or may be distributed across a plurality of computingdevices collectively configured to function as circuitry 400. Theplurality of processors may be in operative communication with eachother and may be collectively configured to perform one or morefunctionalities of circuitry 400 as described herein. In an exampleembodiment, processor 402 is configured to execute instructions storedin memory 404 or otherwise accessible to processor 402. Theseinstructions, when executed by processor 402, may cause circuitry 400 toperform one or more of the functionalities of circuitry 400 as describedherein.

Whether configured by hardware, firmware/software methods, or by acombination thereof, processor 402 may comprise an entity capable ofperforming operations according to embodiments of the present inventionwhile configured accordingly. Thus, for example, when processor 402 isembodied as an ASIC, FPGA or the like, processor 402 may comprisespecifically configured hardware for conducting one or more operationsdescribed herein. As another example, when processor 402 is embodied asan executor of instructions, such as may be stored in memory 404, theinstructions may specifically configure processor 402 to perform one ormore algorithms and operations described herein.

Memory 404 may comprise, for example, volatile memory, non-volatilememory, or some combination thereof. Although illustrated in FIG. 4 as asingle memory, memory 404 may comprise a plurality of memory components.The plurality of memory components may be embodied on a single computingdevice or distributed across a plurality of computing devices. Invarious embodiments, memory 404 may comprise, for example, a hard disk,random access memory, cache memory, flash memory, a compact disc readonly memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc read only memory (DVD-ROM),an optical disc, circuitry configured to store information, or somecombination thereof. Memory 404 may be configured to store information,data, applications, instructions, or the like for enabling circuitry 400to carry out various functions in accordance with example embodimentsdiscussed herein. For example, in at least some embodiments, memory 404is configured to buffer input data for processing by processor 402.Additionally or alternatively, in at least some embodiments, memory 404may be configured to store program instructions for execution byprocessor 402. Memory 404 may store information in the form of staticand/or dynamic information. This stored information may be stored and/orused by circuitry 400 during the course of performing itsfunctionalities.

Communications module 406 may be embodied as any device or meansembodied in circuitry, hardware, a computer program product comprisingcomputer readable program instructions stored on a computer readablemedium (e.g., memory 404) and executed by a processing device (e.g.,processor 402), or a combination thereof that is configured to receiveand/or transmit data from/to another device, such as, for example, asecond circuitry 400 and/or the like. In some embodiments,communications module 406 (like other components discussed herein) canbe at least partially embodied as or otherwise controlled by processor402. In this regard, communications module 406 may be in communicationwith processor 2402, such as via a bus. Communications module 406 mayinclude, for example, an antenna, a transmitter, a receiver, atransceiver, network interface card and/or supporting hardware and/orfirmware/software for enabling communications with another computingdevice. Communications module 406 may be configured to receive and/ortransmit any data that may be stored by memory 404 using any protocolthat may be used for communications between computing devices.Communications module 406 may additionally or alternatively be incommunication with the memory 404, input/output module 408 and/or anyother component of circuitry 400, such as via a bus.

Input/output module 408 may be in communication with processor 402 toreceive an indication of a user input and/or to provide an audible,visual, mechanical, or other output to a user. Some example visualoutputs that may be provided to a user by circuitry 400 are discussed inconnection with the displays described above. As such, input/outputmodule 408 may include support, for example, for a keyboard, a mouse, ajoystick, a display, an image capturing device, a touch screen display,a microphone, a speaker, a RFID reader, barcode reader, biometricscanner, and/or other input/output mechanisms. In embodiments whereincircuitry 400 is embodied as a server or database, aspects ofinput/output module 408 may be reduced as compared to embodiments wherecircuitry 400 is implemented as an end-user machine (e.g., consumerdevice and/or merchant device) or other type of device designed forcomplex user interactions. In some embodiments (like other componentsdiscussed herein), input/output module 408 may even be eliminated fromcircuitry 400. Input/output module 408 may be in communication withmemory 404, communications module 406, and/or any other component(s),such as via a bus. Although more than one input/output module and/orother component can be included in circuitry 400, only one is shown inFIG. 8 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing (like the other componentsdiscussed herein).

Provider margin module 410 may also or instead be included andconfigured to perform the functionality discussed herein related tofacilitating the determination of a provider parameter, such as aprovider margin, as discussed above. In some embodiments, some or all ofthe functionality facilitating determining a provider margin may beperformed by processor 402. In this regard, the example processes andalgorithms discussed herein can be performed by at least one processor402 and/or provider margin module 410. For example, non-transitorycomputer readable storage media can be configured to store firmware, oneor more application programs, and/or other software, which includeinstructions and other computer-readable program code portions that canbe executed to control processors of the components of system 400 toimplement various operations, including the examples shown above. Assuch, a series of computer-readable program code portions may beembodied in one or more computer program products and can be used, witha computing device, server, and/or other programmable apparatus, toproduce the machine-implemented processes discussed herein.

Any such computer program instructions and/or other type of code may beloaded onto a computer, processor or other programmable apparatusescircuitry to produce a machine, such that the computer, processor orother programmable circuitry that executes the code may be the means forimplementing various functions, including those described herein.

The illustrations described herein are intended to provide a generalunderstanding of the structure of various embodiments. The illustrationsare not intended to serve as a complete description of all of theelements and features of apparatus, processors, and systems that utilizethe structures or methods described herein. Many other embodiments maybe apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the disclosure.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from the disclosure, suchthat structural and logical substitutions and changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, theillustrations are merely representational and may not be drawn to scale.Certain proportions within the illustrations may be exaggerated, whileother proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, the disclosure and thefigures are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the description. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope is to be determined by the broadestpermissible interpretation of the following claims and theirequivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoingdetailed description.

That which is claimed:
 1. A method for determining, programmatically, avalue of a provider margin to offer to a provider, on an individualbasis, by providing a secure, web-based interface for receiving input ofprovider characteristic data, in order to reduce a transaction timebetween promotion and marketing system and the provider, the methodcomprising: receiving, via an input process at a system interfaceconfigured for display a merchant device provided by the promotion andmarketing service configured to provide impressions to consumersoffering one or more promotions describing at least a good or servicebeing offered by a provider, provider characteristic data, the providercharacteristic data comprising provider name data indicative of aprovider name, provider category data indicative of a provider category,and provider location data indicative of a provider location; uponcompletion of the input process, receiving input, via the systeminterface configured for display at the merchant device, instructing thepromotion and marketing service to define provider margin data;determining, via a provider margin module and a processor, utilizing aflexible, non-linear combination of one or more of a historicalinformation margin, a provider profile margin, a promotion structuremargin, and a positive return on investment margin, the provider margindata based on one or more of the provider characteristic data, theprovider margin data indicative of a provider margin for a promotion,the determination based upon an appropriate weighting of one or moredesired factors for particular cases and being dependent on which typeor types of data are available, and wherein determining of the providermargin data comprises: (1) determining historical information margindata, (2) determining provider profile margin data, (3) determiningpromotion structure margin data based on one or more redemptionparameters of the promotion, (4) determining a positive return oninvestment margin based upon past promotions offered and the marginthresholds necessary for a positive return of investment in those pastpromotions, and (5) aggregating the historical information margin, theprovider profile margin, the promotion structure margin, and thepositive return on investment margin to generate the provider margindata, wherein (1) determining the historical information margin datacomprises: (a) accessing data indicative of previous provider marginsgiven to providers of a same provider category and adjusting anaggregate of the previous provider margin data with an increase ordecrease based on consumer review data indicative of consumer reviews ofthe provider; and (b) accessing historical provider margin data for theprovider and adjusting the historical provider margin data based onhistorical review score data, the historical review score data being anaggregate of data indicative of historical reviews of the particularprovider; (2) determining the provider profile margin data comprises:(a) determining the provider category based on the provider categorydata; (b) determining the provider location based on the providerlocation data; (c) calculating a provider quality score based on one ormore of review data indicative of a quantity and a quality of consumerreviews of the provider, complaints data indicative of complaintsreceived by consumer protection agencies corresponding to the provider,social data indicative of a social media presence, and refund dataindicative of an amount of refunds issued; and (d) determining, via anaggregation function, the provider profile margin utilizing the providercategory data, the provider location data, and the provider qualityscore data as inputs; (3) determining the promotion structure margindata based on one or more redemption parameters of the promotioncomprises: (a) determining the provider category; (b) determiningaverage margin data indicative of an average margin for the providercategory; (c) identifying discount data indicative of a discountprovided to the consumer in the promotion; (d) determining promotiontarget data indicative of a total number of promotion units to sell; and(e) calculating, via a linear combination, the promotion structuremargin as a function of the provider category data, the average margindata for the provider category, the discount data, and the promotiontarget data; (4) determining the positive return on investment marginbased upon past promotions offered and the margin thresholds necessaryfor the positive return of investment in those past promotionscomprises: (a) accessing category specific variables; (b) running amonte carlo simulation; and (c) calculating a positive profit perinstrument margin that enables a profit per instrument to be positive;and (d) setting the positive return on investment margin to the positiveprofit per instrument margin in accordance with the monte carlosimulation; (5) aggregating the historical information margin, theprovider profile margin, the promotion structure margin, and thepositive return on investment margin to generate the provider margindata; and presenting, via the system interface configured for display atthe merchant device, the provider margin data in real-time uponreceiving the instruction to calculate the provider margin data to thesystem interface.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining theprovider margin is based on each of the provider category and theprovider location.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining aprovider margin further comprises at least one of: determining ahistorical information margin; determining a provider profile margin;determining a promotion structure margin; and determining a positivereturn on investment margin.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereindetermining the provider margin further comprises combining, by linearcombination, at least two of the historical information margin, providerprofile margin, promotion structure margin, and the positive return oninvestment margin.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein determining aprovider margin further comprises determining a maximum value betweenthe positive return on investment margin and the combination of the atleast two of the historical information margin, provider profile margin,and promotion structure margin.
 6. The method of claim 3, whereindetermining a historical information margin comprises: determining aprovider rating score; determining a provider historical margin; andadjusting the provider historical margin based in part on the providerrating score.
 7. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the providerprofile margin comprises: receiving provider category data; determininga provider quality score; and determining the provider profile marginbased at least in part on the provider category data, provider qualityscore, and the provider location.
 8. The method of claim 3, whereindetermining the promotion structure margin may comprise: determining apromotion discount amount; and determining a total promotion productamount.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining the promotionstructure margin may comprise determining a linear combination of thepromotion discount amount and the total promotion product amount. 10.The method of claim 3, wherein determining a positive return oninvestment margin may comprise determining a profit per instrumentdivided by a promotion product unit price.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein determining a positive return on investment margin may compriseapproximating distributions of the profit per instrument divided by apromotion unit price using a Monte Carlo simulation.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein determining a positive return on investment margin maycomprise determining the probability that the profit per instrumentdivided by a promotion product unit price is greater than zero.
 13. Acomputer program product for determining, programmatically, a value of aprovider margin to offer to a provider, on an individual basis, byproviding a secure, web-based interface for receiving input of providercharacteristic data, in order to reduce a transaction time betweenpromotion and marketing system and the provider, comprising: at leastone computer readable non-transitory memory medium having program codeinstructions stored thereon, the program code instructions which whenexecuted by an apparatus cause the apparatus at least to: receive, viaan input process at a system interface configured for display a merchantdevice provided by the promotion and marketing service configured toprovide impressions to consumers offering one or more promotionsdescribing at least a good or service being offered by a provider,provider characteristic data, the provider characteristic datacomprising provider name data indicative of a provider name, providercategory data indicative of a provider category, and provider locationdata indicative of a provider location; upon completion of the inputprocess, receive input, via the system interface configured for displayat the merchant device, instructing the promotion and marketing serviceto define provider margin data; determine, via a provider margin moduleand a processor, utilizing a flexible, non-linear combination of one ormore of a historical information margin, a provider profile margin, apromotion structure margin, and a positive return on investment margin,the provider margin data based on one or more of the providercharacteristic data, the provider margin data indicative of a providermargin for a promotion, the determination based upon an appropriateweighting of one or more desired factors for particular cases and beingdependent on which type or types of data are available, and whereindetermining of the provider margin data comprises: (1) determininghistorical information margin data, (2) determining provider profilemargin data, (3) determining promotion structure margin data based onone or more redemption parameters of the promotion, (4) determining apositive return on investment margin based upon past promotions offeredand the margin thresholds necessary for a positive return of investmentin those past promotions, and (5) aggregating the historical informationmargin, the provider profile margin, the promotion structure margin, andthe positive return on investment margin to generate the provider margindata, wherein (1) determining the historical information margin datacomprises: (a) accessing data indicative of previous provider marginsgiven to providers of a same provider category and adjusting anaggregate of the previous provider margin data with an increase ordecrease based on consumer review data indicative of consumer reviews ofthe provider; and (b) accessing historical provider margin data for theprovider and adjusting the historical provider margin data based onhistorical review score data, the historical review score data being anaggregate of data indicative of historical reviews of the particularprovider; (2) determining the provider profile margin data comprises:(a) determining the provider category based on the provider categorydata; (b) determining the provider location based on the providerlocation data; (c) calculating a provider quality score based on one ormore of review data indicative of a quantity and a quality of consumerreviews of the provider, complaints data indicative of complaintsreceived by consumer protection agencies corresponding to the provider,social data indicative of a social media presence, and refund dataindicative of an amount of refunds issued; and (d) determining, via anaggregation function, the provider profile margin utilizing the providercategory data, the provider location data, and the provider qualityscore data as inputs; (3) determining the promotion structure margindata based on one or more redemption parameters of the promotioncomprises: (a) determining the provider category; (b) determiningaverage margin data indicative of an average margin for the providercategory; (c) identifying discount data indicative of a discountprovided to the consumer in the promotion; (d) determining promotiontarget data indicative of a total number of promotion units to sell; and(e) calculating, via a linear combination, the promotion structuremargin as a function of the provider category data, the average margindata for the provider category, the discount data, and the promotiontarget data; (4) determining the positive return on investment marginbased upon past promotions offered and the margin thresholds necessaryfor the positive return of investment in those past promotionscomprises: (a) accessing category specific variables; (b) running amonte carlo simulation; and (c) calculating a positive profit perinstrument margin that enables a profit per instrument to be positive;and (d) setting the positive return on investment margin to the positiveprofit per instrument margin in accordance with the monte carlosimulation; (5) aggregating the historical information margin, theprovider profile margin, the promotion structure margin, and thepositive return on investment margin to generate the provider margindata; and present, via the system interface configured for display atthe merchant device, the provider margin data in real-time uponreceiving the instruction to calculate the provider margin data to thesystem interface.
 14. A computer program product according to claim 13,wherein the determining the provider margin is based on each of theprovider category and the provider location.
 15. A computer programproduct according to claim 13, wherein the program code instructions arefurther configured to, when executed by the apparatus, cause theapparatus at least to: determine a historical information margin;determine a provider profile margin; determine a promotion structuremargin; and determine a positive return on investment margin.
 16. Acomputer program product according to claim 15, wherein the program codeinstructions are further configured to, when executed by the apparatus,cause the apparatus at least to: determine a linear combination of atleast two of the historical information margin, provider profile margin,promotion structure margin, and the positive return on investmentmargin.
 17. A computer program product according to claim 15, whereinthe program code instructions are further configured to, when executedby the apparatus, cause the apparatus at least to: determine the maximumvalue between a positive return on investment margin and a linearcombination of at least two of the historical information margin,provider profile margin, and promotion structure margin.
 18. Anapparatus for determining, programmatically, a value of a providermargin to offer to a provider, on an individual basis, by providing asecure, web-based interface for receiving input of providercharacteristic data, in order to reduce a transaction time betweenpromotion and marketing system and the provider, comprising at least oneprocessor and at least one memory including computer program code, theat least one memory and the computer program code configured to, withthe at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receive, via aninput process at a system interface configured for display a merchantdevice provided by the promotion and marketing service configured toprovide impressions to consumers offering one or more promotionsdescribing at least a good or service being offered by a provider,provider characteristic data, the provider characteristic datacomprising provider name data indicative of a provider name, providercategory data indicative of a provider category, and provider locationdata indicative of a provider location; upon completion of the inputprocess, receive input, via the system interface configured for displayat the merchant device, instructing the promotion and marketing serviceto define provider margin data; determine, via a provider margin moduleand a processor, utilizing a flexible, non-linear combination of one ormore of a historical information margin, a provider profile margin, apromotion structure margin, and a positive return on investment margin,the provider margin data based on one or more of the providercharacteristic data, the provider margin data indicative of a providermargin for a promotion, the determination based upon an appropriateweighting of one or more desired factors for particular cases and beingdependent on which type or types of data are available, and whereindetermining of the provider margin data comprises: (1) determininghistorical information margin data, wherein the historical informationmargin data is determined by: (a) accessing data indicative of previousprovider margins given to providers of a same provider category andadjusting an aggregate of the previous provider margin data with anincrease or decrease based on consumer review data indicative ofconsumer reviews of the provider; and (b) accessing historical providermargin data for the provider and adjusting the historical providermargin data based on historical review score data, the historical reviewscore data being an aggregate of data indicative of historical reviewsof the particular provider; (2) determining provider profile margin databy: (a) determining the provider category based on the provider categorydata; (b) determining the provider location based on the providerlocation data; (c) calculating a provider quality score based on one ormore of review data indicative of a quantity and a quality of consumerreviews of the provider, complaints data indicative of complaintsreceived by consumer protection agencies corresponding to the provider,social data indicative of a social media presence, and refund dataindicative of an amount of refunds issued; and (d) determining, via anaggregation function, the provider profile margin utilizing the providercategory data, the provider location data, and the provider qualityscore data as inputs; (3) determining promotion structure margin databased on one or more redemption parameters of the promotion, thepromotion structure margin determined by: (a) determining the providercategory; (b) determining average margin data indicative of an averagemargin for the provider category; (c) identifying discount dataindicative of a discount provided to the consumer in the promotion; (d)determining promotion target data indicative of a total number ofpromotion units to sell; and (e) calculating, via a linear combination,the promotion structure margin as a function of the provider categorydata, the average margin data for the provider category, the discountdata, and the promotion target data; (4) determining a positive returnon investment margin based upon past promotions offered and the marginthresholds necessary for a positive return of investment in those pastpromotions by: (a) accessing category specific variables; (b) running amonte carlo simulation; and (c) calculating a positive profit perinstrument margin that enables a profit per instrument to be positive;and (d) setting the positive return on investment margin to the positiveprofit per instrument margin in accordance with the monte carlosimulation; (5) aggregating one or more of the historical informationmargin, the provider profile margin, the promotion structure margin, andthe positive return on investment margin to generate the provider margindata; and output, via the system interface configured for display at themerchant device, the provider margin data in real-time upon receivingthe instruction to calculate the provider margin data to the systeminterface.
 19. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein thedetermination of the provider margin is based on each of the providercategory and the provider location.
 20. An apparatus according to claim18, wherein the at least one memory and the program code instructionsare further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause theapparatus at least to: determine a historical information margin;determine a provider profile margin; determine a promotion structuremargin; and determine a positive return on investment margin.
 21. Anapparatus according to claim 20, wherein the at least one memory and theprogram code instructions are further configured to, with the at leastone processor, cause the apparatus at least to: determine a linearcombination of at least two of the historical information margin,provider profile margin, promotion structure margin, and the positivereturn on investment margin.
 22. An apparatus according to claim 20,wherein the at least one memory and the program code instructions arefurther configured to, with the at least one processor, cause theapparatus at least to: determine the maximum value between a positivereturn on investment margin and a linear combination of at least two ofthe historical information margin, provider profile margin, andpromotion structure margin.